Hold My Hand in the Dark
by Gleeks09
Summary: AU: Shelby has always been a part of Rachel's life and she shares custody with the Berrys. Rachel is 10 finally finds a friend. The girl can't see very well and has to use a cane but what Rachel notices about her is her red hair.  Like Annie's. AU


**A/N – I've got a new little Rachel story for you. Shelby has always been a part of her life and she shares custody with Hiram and Leroy. Rachel is 10 finally finds a friend that shares her interests. **

**And I know I'm late with an update for Changed for the Better. I'm working on getting it done. I got busy with the holiday and then I got food poisoning Christmas day and have been pretty sick. I didn't realize I'd been that naughty, but now that I know how Santa feels about everything, I'll be better this year. Or sneakier. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own anything.**

Rachel was tapping her feet in time to the song only she could hear as she stared out the window of her fifth grade class. She had already completed the writing assignment the class had been given and was looking longingly out at the warm spring day. It would be time for recess soon and she couldn't wait to get outside. A late cold front had lingered for the last few days and Rachel thought it was hardly fair that they had to sit inside and work when it was finally warm and sunny again. But she really did love her teacher this year so it wasn't all bad.

A new song was on her mind and her tapping changed rhythm and Rachel rested an elbow on her desk and propped up her head with her hand and watched two birds that looked like they could be dancing to her song. She was smiling until a gentle clearing of the throat stopped the song and got her attention. Rachel looked to the front of the classroom and saw her teacher, Mrs. Thorpe, watching her. The woman picked up a pencil and scribbled in the air indicating that she wanted Rachel to get to work with her writing. Rachel held up her paper so Mrs. Thorpe could see that she was finished. The teacher motioned for the girl to come to her with her finger and Rachel got out of her seat and ignored the snickers from the kids who assumed she was in trouble.

Rachel handed her paper to the teacher did her best not to look back at the other children who were now watching her as if her getting in trouble would be really funny. She had to resist the urge to stick her tongue out at them because she knew she really would get a scolding then.

"This looks great, Rachel," Mrs. Thorpe whispered and Rachel beamed at the praise.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered back.

"Why don't you start on some of your homework and get it out of the way?" Mrs. Thorpe asked. "There's still twenty minutes of writing time left."

Rachel nodded and headed back to her desk and pulled out her math homework. She'd rather not have to do this at all, but liked the idea of being able to get it out of the way. She was going to her mom's work after school today and she liked to be able to watch the practices and not be stuck doing homework. Going to Carmel after school was her favorite part about Wednesdays because she got to watch Vocal Adrenaline during their rehearsals. Both her dads had to work late on Wednesdays and after much calculation and coercion, Rachel had convinced her parents to let go to the high school instead of having a babysitter. Like she needed a babysitter anyway; she was ten now! Double digits were supposed to mean something. Shelby's friend was a secretary in the office at Lima Elementary and she drove Rachel to Carmel on her way home.

Rachel was putting her math notebook away just as Mrs. Thorpe announced that time was up and the papers needed to be passed forward. She didn't get any farther with her instruction because the classroom door opened to reveal the principal and a girl Rachel didn't know. The pockets of chatter stopped when the students saw the principal standing there and all eyes were watching this new girl with interest and curiosity. She wore glasses, which was not all that unusual, but she also carried with her a white cane and was holding onto Mr. Duncan's sleeve.

"Mrs. Thorpe," Mr. Duncan said as he led the girl into the room, "this is your new student, Kelsey Foster. Class, this is Kelsey."

Kelsey turned her head toward the class and seemed to look them over though she never moved from her spot. Just as quickly, she turned her head back to look at Mrs. Thorpe who was now leaning down to eye level to talk to her.

"Welcome to the class," Mrs. Thorpe said and she patted Kelsey on the shoulder. "We have a desk for you right here in the front."

All of the kids were staring at her as Mrs. Thorpe took her hand and helped her to the desk. She sat down tentatively and held on to her bag but rested the cane down on the ground. Mr. Duncan said his goodbyes and left the room and there was an immediate buzz of low chatter took over while Mrs. Thorpe checked to make sure that Kelsey was settled. Rachel stared at the new girl and smiled at the one feature that really stood out to her; that girl had bright red, curly hair! So cool!

Mrs. Thorpe was back in front of the class and waited a few moments until all of the students were quiet and she had their attention. "Since Kelsey is new here," she began, "I think we should give her a buddy to help her get acquainted with the class and to help show her around. Do I have any volunteers?"

Rachel's hand shot into the air and she waved it around to try and get Mrs. Thorpe's attention. She had to get this job. Mrs. Thorpe smiled knowingly at the little girl who so often didn't have anyone to play with and nodded at her.

"Rachel, I think you would be a perfect new friend for Kelsey," Mrs. Thorpe told her. "Why don't you come over here and introduce yourself while everyone lines up to go to recess."

The class jumped into action at the prospect of getting to play outside and Rachel made her way to the front of the class. Mrs. Thorpe was telling Kelsey she could leave her bag there and to come and meet Rachel. Rachel waited with as much patience as she could muster while the girl retrieved her white cane and stood up.

"Hello!" Rachel said as she stuck her hand out for her new friend to shake.

"Hi," Kelsey half whispered shyly. She didn't notice the outstretched hand.

"Rachel," Mrs. Thorpe started to explain, but Rachel cut her off.

Rachel didn't pay any attention to the fact that Kelsey hadn't taken her hand and she knew why so she just stepped forward and grabbed the right hand that hung at the girl's side and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. Did you just move here?"

"Yeah," Kelsey answered.

"I've never lived anywhere else," Rachel said, almost lamenting.

"Rachel, can you help Kelsey get outside?" Mrs. Thorpe asked. "She doesn't see very well."

"Ok," Rachel answered. She folded her arm and guided Kelsey's right hand to take it while the girl used the cane with her left. "I love your hair," Rachel continued without missing a beat. "It reminds me of _Annie_."

"Do you know _Annie_?" Kelsey asked excitedly. "That's one of my favorites!"

"It's one of my favorites too!" Rachel exclaimed.

Mrs. Thorpe watched as both their faces lit up and she smiled to herself as she led the class down the hall and to the doors.

Rachel and Kelsey found a spot in the shade and sat down and leaned against the building. Neither was very interested in playing right now because they wanted to find out what the other knew about _Annie_.

"My mom took me to see _Annie_ when I was five," Rachel told her. "It was so amazing."

"I've never seen it on stage, but I've seen the movie tons of times," Kelsey said. "And I know all the songs."

"Me too," Rachel agreed. "It's one of my favorite CDs to listen to. I always have to sing along. I'm a really good singer. My mom is too. My dads don't sing very well, but they do it anyway."

"I like to sing along too," Kelsey agreed. "My mom doesn't like the musicals as much as I do. But she says I can sing as much as I want to."

"What about your dad? Does he sing?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Kelsey answered. "He and my mom divorced when I was two and I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Oh," Rachel said and she put her head down.

"It's just my mom and me. But I think I like it that way," Kelsey told her. "Do you have more than one dad?" she asked after a moment. "Are your parents divorced too?"

"No," Rachel said. She fiddled with her fingers in her lap because she knew that having two fathers was something that lots of people didn't like. And she really wanted Kelsey to be her friend. "I've got two dads. They are married to each other. My mom isn't married."

"Oh," Kelsey said. "Were your daddies ever married to your mom?"

"No," Rachel said feeling dejected. She knew how this always went.

"But they love each other?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "But there's nothing wrong with that!"

Kelsey just shrugged, "ok. What's your favorite part of _Annie_?"

Rachel popped her head up and stared at her new friend and then smiled brightly. "I like when she sings "It's a Hard Knock Life." That part was so funny on stage. You should have seen it." Rachel stopped when she realized what she said and then asked, "How come you can't see?" It wasn't unkind; just the curiosity of a child.

"I can see a little bit," Kelsey said. It was her turn to look down. "But only out of my left eye. I was born too early and there was something wrong with my eyes and my right one doesn't work at all and the left one only works a little bit. I need help getting around and that's why I have my cane and have to hold onto people." She anxiously waited for a response because she knew how hard it could be for some people to see past her disability.

"Wow," Rachel said. "Maybe you could get a seat right in the front row if _Annie_ ever comes back here. That way you could see it better."

Kelsey raised her head to look at Rachel and they shared a smile that confirmed their place as new friends. The conversation then turned to other musicals and they compared notes on what they loved right up until Mrs. Thorpe told everyone it was time to go inside. Rachel helped Kelsey up and held her hand all the way back to the classroom.

The hard soles of Rachel's Mary Jane shoes could be heard echoing through the hallways at Carmel High School as she raced towards the auditorium after being dropped off. She slid to a stop in front of the door so she could pull it open and then ran inside.

"Mom!" she yelled excitedly.

Everyone on stage turned to look to the back of the room and watched as Rachel ran down the aisle, tossing her book bag at the director's table as she did. Shelby's lesson was interrupted and she put her hands on her hips to wait for her daughter to get to her.

"Mom!" Rachel yelled again. She was scrambling up the stairs now and finally came to a stop center stage in front of Shelby and tried to talk around catching her breath. "I made," she panted. "There was." She took as big a breath as she could and quickly said, "A new girl, she's my friend," and then leaned down to put her hands on her knees and breathed.

"Rachel," Shelby said, ready to tell the girl she needed to wait at the table because they were in the middle of something, but Rachel cut her off.

Rachel straightened back up and reached up and grabbed her long hair and held it out for Shelby to see. "She has red hair, Mom!"

The Vocal Adrenaline students started to whisper to each other as they watched the scene in front of them. Most of them got such a kick out of Rachel and Wednesdays were always a little different when she was there. Coach Corcoran was always just as hard and just as demanding, but they never knew what they were going to get from Rachel. They had all learned little ways they could use Rachel to get to Shelby too and she was a handy little ally. Except for that time she'd pulled the fire alarm at the beginning of the year when she heard two sophomores joking about how it would be a good way to get a break. Coach Corcoran had not been happy that day. Not happy at all.

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Rachel's seriousness and rolled her eyes when she heard the chatter in the background. "Ok everyone, take ten minutes. Get some water and then get back here." The kids didn't wait around to be told twice. Shelby and Rachel went back to the director's table and the girl sat up on her knees in the chair next to her mother.

"She has red hair like Annie and she said she loved the movie and she knows all the songs," Rachel picked back up with her story. "But she's never seen it on stage. She likes a bunch of other musicals too. We talked all through recess. She only got to class just before that. We're going to be friends!"

"That's fantastic, honey!" Shelby enthused. She knew how much her little girl struggled with finding friends. "I think I would love to meet her."

"Can she stay the night this weekend?" Rachel asked. "I told her I would ask you and she would ask her mom. She said that she and her mom were still unpacking everything and so she'd have to ask. But Mom, she's never seen _Funny Girl_ and I told her we could watch it if she comes over this weekend. Or just listen to the soundtrack. Can she, Mom?"

"Whoa Rach, calm down," Shelby laughed. "It's fine with me. We can talk to her mom and try and work it out."

"Thanks, Mom!" Rachel crawled over the arm rest in her chair and into Shelby's lap so she could hug her.

Rachel had spent the next two days talking about nothing but Kelsey and her upcoming visit that Saturday. She came home Thursday and Friday beaming about something that had happened in school instead of frowning about it like she normally did. The other kids' words didn't matter so much now that she had a friend all her own.

There was one new thing that their daughter was doing that the parents couldn't figure out. Rachel had taken to covering one eye when she was walking around looking at something in the distance. She'd ride in the car with one eye closed and talk about the things she was seeing, or how she couldn't see. She held her books really close to her face while she was reading and started sitting on a stool very close to the TV, even after being admonished and told she needs to sit back farther so she didn't hurt her eyes.

"Do you think she needs to have her eyes checked again?" Hiram asked Friday night when he and Leroy dropped Rachel off at Shelby's.

"She was just at the eye doctor six months ago and he said everything was fine," Shelby said. "I've asked her and she doesn't say her eyes hurt or that she's having trouble seeing."

"I think we should set up an appointment just in case," Leroy said. "She started doing this pretty suddenly and if there's a problem, I don't want to let it get much farther." They all agreed and Hiram said he would call in the morning and set something up for her.

Rachel was beside herself with excitement Saturday morning because Kelsey would be there that afternoon. Her dads were going to come over and meet her and her mom because they knew what a big deal this was to Rachel. And no way were they going to miss out on meeting the famous Kelsey.

Rachel helped pick up around the house without being asked and made sure that nothing was on the floor in her room. She beamed at the selection of musical posters that lined her walls and knew that Kelsey would love it. She wondered if she had an _Annie _poster in her room. Rachel would like to see it. Maybe she could stay over at her house next weekend!

"Hey buddy," Shelby said when she stepped into Rachel's room, "you need to put this away. It's been hanging out in the living for too long now."

"Where's the pink one?" Rachel asked when she took the dark green bandana her mom was handing to her. Rachel was in a _Wicked_ phase that Shelby didn't think would ever end. The girl was always on the lookout for anything pink and green that she could use together. When she'd seen the pink and green bandanas at the mall a month ago, she simply had to have them. She tied them to everything around the house depending on her mood and if she thought it was appropriate to Glinda or Elphaba. Shelby had tried to participate and had tied the green one to her wrist one night and was met with an incredulous look and a, "Mom."

"It's still tied to the door knob on my bathroom," Shelby told her.

"Oh yeah," Rachel said.

"Get it and put it away," Shelby instructed. "You and Kelsey can play with them later." It was a simple game, but Shelby loved that Rachel's imagination let her see her favorite characters in everyday things.

"Ok," Rachel replied as Shelby turned to leave the room. She tossed the bandana down on her dresser, but then picked up again really quick and stared at it. She had an idea!

Rachel made quick work of folding the bandana length wise a few times and then placing it over her eyes and tying it around the back of her head. She moved her head around to see if she could see anything and was pleased that she couldn't. She'd been trying for the past few days to try and see how Kelsey sees and the dark green cloth blocked out everything. She knew Kelsey could see a little bit, but this would be an interesting exercise. She was going to try and make it to the bathroom in her mother's room to retrieve the pink bandana from the door knob.

Rachel put her hands out in front of her and took a slow, tentative step forward and was quite pleased with herself when she didn't bump into anything. She swung her arms out to the side and kept up her slow pace until she reached her door and then took a left in the hallway to go towards her mother's room. Her confidence grew when she reached Shelby's door and hadn't bumped into anything. She wasn't too bad at this.

Rachel made it across the bedroom ok and reached out and found the door knob with the bandana and worked to untie it. She heard her fathers coming in the house downstairs as she worked out the frustrating knot.

"Rachel," she heard Hiram calling from downstairs. "What are you doing, peanut?"

"I'll be right there," Rachel yelled back.

The knot finally came undone and Rachel smiled triumphantly. Now she just had to get back to her room and put them away. She backed away a couple of steps as she pocketed the pink bandana and then turned to leave the room. In doing so, however, she lost her bearing and wasn't sure where she was in relation to the door she was just standing at. That's ok; she'd just take it slow.

Rachel put her arms out again and took a few steps forward. Her hands were too high because she didn't realize the bed was there until she bumped into it which caused her to move a few steps to the right to get out of the way and instead she tripped over a chair and landed with a thump on the floor.

"Ow," Rachel muttered as she sat up. She knew where she was now.

Shelby, Hiram, and Leroy all looked up at the ceiling when they heard the thump and then at each other. What was she up to up there? Shelby got up to investigate.

Rachel had made it to the hall and thought maybe she could make it downstairs to show her parents how well she was doing instead of going back to her room. She'd only tripped once and so that had to be doing pretty good, right? And she was always one to show off a new talent. Now she just needed to make it to the stairs.

Rachel didn't go far enough into the hallway to avoid running into a small table that held a few framed pictures and two of her grandmother's bells. The ringing of the bells as they hit the floor melded nicely with the sound of the picture frames falling on top of each other and Rachel instinctively took a step to the side and started to back away from the mess she was making.

Shelby was headed up the stairs when she saw her blindfolded daughter walking backwards towards the first step down. "Rachel!" she yelled as she quickened her pace and caught the girl around the waist and lifted her off her feet before she could take a tumble backwards. Hiram and Leroy shot up to see what was wrong.

Shelby set the girl on her feet and pulled the bandana from her head just as the fathers reached the top of the stairs. Rachel blinked a couple times and then looked to the pictures and bells on the floor and then back at her parents. Shelby had her hands on her shoulders and was leaning down at eye level with her.

"What are you doing?" the mother asked. "You almost fell down the stairs!"

"I wanted to try and walk around without being able to see," Rachel answered.

"Why?" Leroy asked. "What's going on, Rachel? Do your eyes hurt?"

"No," Rachel answered. "I just wanted to see what it was like. Not everyone can see, you know."

"We know that," Shelby said, "but you could have gotten hurt. It's not a game to people who can't see."

"I was doing fine until I tripped over the chair in your room," Rachel said.

Shelby looked at the items on the ground there in the hallway and then back to her daughter. "Did you spill anything else in my room?"

"No?" Rachel said and the questioning tone was not lost on her mother who stood up to go check.

"You'd better hope not, little miss," Shelby said. She turned Rachel towards the room to take the girl with her to look, but the doorbell chimed and Rachel wriggled free and took off down the stairs.

"She's here!"

"Saved by the bell," Leroy chuckled as he and Hiram followed after her.

Shelby quickly glanced into her room and sighed in relief to see that it was all in order and her she didn't have a full bottle of perfume spilling all over the floor or something. She then followed her family down the stairs to meet Kelsey and her mother. She arrived with them just as Rachel was opening the door.

"Hi, Kelsey!" Rachel said her friend. "Come in."

She stepped back and out of the way so the girl and her mom could enter and that's when all three parents finally understood the way Rachel had been acting the last few days. They exchanged looks as they also stepped back to give the little girl room to enter. Kelsey held tightly to her mother's hand and she put her cane in front of her to feel for any objects that might be in her way.

"Hi, I'm Rachel," the girl said brightly to Kelsey's mother and stuck her hand out for the woman to shake.

Kelsey's mother laughed and took the girl's hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you."

"And this is my mom and dad and daddy," Rachel presented her parents who all smiled and said hello.

"Hi," Kelsey said quietly.

Now that the formalities were out of the way for Rachel, she took Kelsey's hand and led her farther into the house away from the adults.

"I'm Shelby," the woman said as she held her hand out to Kelsey's mother. "And this is Hiram and Leroy."

"I'm Andrea," she told them. "It's lovely to meet you all. Kelsey has spoken of nothing else except Rachel for the last two days."

"Rachel has been the same way," Hiram said as he led them into the kitchen and Leroy started to serve some coffee.

"Though from the looks you all gave each other, can I assume she didn't mention one little detail?" Andrea asked.

The other three adults gave her sheepish smiles and then nodded.

"You're right," Shelby said. "She was much more interested in the fact that Kelsey has red hair like Annie and likes musicals than anything else."

"Kelsey told me that Rachel didn't care that she couldn't see well," Andrea said.

"She's been trying to emulate it these last couple days," Hiram explained. "That's more where that look came from. We all finally understood why she was covering one eye to watch TV or walking around using a bandana as a blindfold. She almost fell down the stairs just before you got here."

Andrea chuckled and then quickly apologized. "I'm not laughing at the fact that she could have gotten hurt; it's just kind of sweet. She's trying to see things the way Kelsey sees them. She doesn't have many people that try to do that for her."

The adults continued their conversation while Rachel showed Kelsey the rest of the downstairs.

"And my mom said that we can watch _Funny Girl_ later if we want," Rachel continued on. "Or we could watch _Annie_. We could sing the songs if we wanted. We could put on a concert or something."

"That sounds like fun," Kelsey said.

"Come on, I'll show you my room."

Rachel took her hand and led her to the stairs and made sure she stayed at Kelsey's pace as they made their way up. They went into her room and Rachel stood back and smiled as Kelsey took it all in.

"I love all your posters!" Kelsey said as she moved around to each one to look at them. "I've got a few, but we're still trying to unpack everything and so it's not done yet. I've got an _Annie_ one and a _Wicked_ one too."

"I just got the _Wicked _one earlier this year," Rachel told her. "I'm trying to get my parents to take me to New York City to see it. They said that maybe they would try over the summer."

"Have you ever been to New York City before?" Kelsey asked.

"Yep!" Rachel said excitedly. "Me and my mom and my grandma and grandpa went when I was eight. We saw _Beauty and the Beast_ and it was so amazing. I wanted to stay, but we couldn't. I even hid in the hotel so we wouldn't have to come home."

"It would be so cool to live there," Kelsey said. She didn't press Rachel for any details about hiding out in the hotel and Rachel knew it was because her new friend simply understood that sometimes you had to do what was necessary to make things happen.

"Where did you get all the gold stars?" Kelsey asked after she went to look at Rachel's shelves that were lined with books and pictures and countless gold stars. There were trophies and pendants and figurines and just about anything else that could be made into a star and displayed.

"I get them from all over. Mom says that gold stars were kind of her thing and they're mine too," Rachel told her. "I'm going to be a star on Broadway one day so it only seems natural that I would have a lot of gold stars now."

"Are you really going to be on Broadway?" Kelsey asked.

"Of course," Rachel said, full of confidence. "It's all I wanted for as long as I can remember."

"I'm going to come and see you one day."

"Of course you are," Rachel said. "You're my best friend."

Both girls smiled and Rachel walked over to Kelsey and took her hand and led her to another part of the room to show off some of the playbills she had. Most of them were from her mother's collection, but Shelby let her hang onto the ones that weren't signed.

"What are you going to be when you grow up?" Rachel asked.

"I'm going to be a writer," Kelsey said proudly. "I love to read."

"Me too," Rachel told her. "And that settles it. You're going to write me a musical one day and I'm going to star in it."

Rachel put her right hand in Kelsey's and they shook on it. It was a fact now.

"Girls," Shelby said as she and Andrea entered the room.

"Wow, I know Kelsey must love this room," Andrea said.

"Rachel's been to New York City, Mom," Kelsey told her.

"Oh how fun," Andrea said.

"She hid out in the hotel so she wouldn't have to come home," Kelsey elaborated on the story.

Andrea chuckled and looked at Shelby who was watching Rachel who turned away from her mom and became very interested in her gold stars across the room. Shelby shook her head at her little delinquent before turning to smile at Andrea who gave her a look that said she understood what Shelby was dealing with.

"That probably wasn't the best thing for her to do," Andrea said. "But I'm going to go now, honey. I've brought your bag up." Andrea went over and gave her a hug and asked her if she was ok. Kelsey suddenly became apprehensive, but tried to hide it and nodded her head. "Be a good girl, ok. And you can call me if you need anything. Anytime."

"I know," Kelsey whispered and held tightly to her mother.

"Have fun. I can't wait to hear about your night tomorrow," Andrea said.

"Ok," Kelsey said.

Andrea leaned down and gave Kelsey a kiss on the head and she and Shelby stepped out of the room to go back downstairs. Rachel took the time to show Kelsey around the upstairs, making sure to point out how to get to the bathroom and where Shelby's room was. Once Kelsey assured her that she was comfortable, they went back downstairs to put in a movie. They started with _Annie_ of course and both sang during all the songs. Kelsey was amazed by Rachel's voice and Rachel didn't even once tell Kelsey that she was a little bit sharp.

Hiram and Leroy stayed through dinner and were thoroughly charmed by Kelsey and she was equally happy to be getting to know them. They were interested in all her books and helped to make sure she could get a word in edge-wise with Rachel. She was kind of disappointed when they left, but felt better when they promised that she could go to their house to play with Rachel whenever she wanted.

"Do you want to hear my mom sing? Or we could sing a duet." Rachel asked Kelsey as they sat in the living room after dinner.

"Rachel," Shelby chided from the kitchen where she was putting plates in the dishwasher. "You two go and play. Kelsey didn't come over here to listen to us sing."

"But," Kelsey spoke up, "I love to hear people sing. Can you sing like Rachel?"

"She's better than I am," Rachel said. "But that's only because she's older and has had years to train and practice. I may surpass her one day." Shelby rolled her eyes.

Kelsey got up from her spot on the couch and made her way to the kitchen to look in at Shelby. "Will you sing? Rachel said something earlier about doing a concert." Kelsey was excited. Her mom loved her love of all things musicals and tried to indulge her, but having two other people who liked it just as much and could participate was something new for the girl.

"Yeah, let's do a concert!" Rachel said as she raced past Kelsey and slid on her socked feet on the kitchen floor and came to a stop in front of her mom; a move she had clearly perfected. "Kelsey and I will pick out songs and costumes and you can play the piano for us."

"Ok," Shelby said. "If that's what you guys want to do."

"It is!" Rachel said and Kelsey nodded eagerly.

"Go on, then," Shelby said. "Plan it out."

"Come on," Rachel said as she led the way out of the kitchen.

An hour later, Rachel and Kelsey were dressed in "fancy" dresses and Shelby had helped them do their hair and make-up. She herself was in an old dress she'd worn to a party a couple years ago and had accented it with a pink boa. The girls had a list of song about a mile and a half long and Shelby had told them several times they were going to need to condense it and the girls kept ignoring her. Shelby took a bunch of pictures and promised Kelsey she would show them to Andrea the next day.

Kelsey watched in awe as mother and daughter opened the concert with a duet of "Beauty and the Beast" from the show and then Rachel went right into the opening song "Belle" and Kelsey couldn't help but get up and join her. She loved that show.

Shelby ended up discretely omitting songs as they went along because otherwise they would have been singing into next Thursday. She was happy to take her turn as a member of the audience when Rachel and Kelsey worked out a dance and performed it for her. She jumped up from the couch into a standing ovation when they were finished and Rachel bowed and then lunged forward into her mother for a hug. Kelsey stood back until Shelby reached out her arm for her to join them and the girl soon found herself wrapping her arms around the woman and her new best friend and receiving the hugs in return.

Shelby closed the concert with "Funny Girl" and both Rachel and Kelsey sat on the couch wide-eyed and speechless. It was just perfect. A silence hung in the air until Kelsey whispered, "Wow."

"That's 'Funny Girl,'" Rachel said as if those two words held the answers to the mysteries of life.

It was a unanimous decision that _Funny Girl_ be the movie they closed the evening with and Rachel didn't waste any time in getting it set up. Shelby made them change into their pajamas and wash their faces before they could sit down for the movie and held her ground as she shuffled two grumbling and whining girls to the stairs. They returned fifteen minutes later with clean faces and dressed for bed and nary a pout in sight. She had also taken the time to change into some sweats and had made popcorn for them and it was waiting as they took up residence on the couch.

Kelsey moved forward to sit on the coffee table as soon as it started so she could try and see it better and Rachel looked helplessly up at Shelby when the girl leaned even father forward because there was nowhere closer for her to sit. Shelby leaned down and kissed her head and got to her feet, telling Rachel that she'd be back in a minute.

Shelby went into her garage that was so clean it made Hiram and Leroy jealous and searched for two folding chairs. They were the kind you would take camping with you or two a cookout. She knew she had them, but Shelby stopped for a second and tried to remember when she bought them. God knows she had never been camping. She was still waiting for someone to explain to her the fun in sitting around outside for a few days with nothing to do except ward off the bugs and other creatures. Hiram and Leroy loved to camp. Maybe the chairs belonged to them. What else had those two brought over here to store in her garage? She looked around suspiciously and tried to take an inventory of the space Rachel's fathers coveted. It's not her fault she didn't have the need for things like power tools or car parts. Their garage was taken up with the 1967 Mustang they were working to restore. It really would be a beautiful car when they were finished. What was she doing out here again? Chairs, right. Focus, Shelby.

Shelby plucked the two chairs from a corner and carried them back into the living for the girls. Kelsey was close to standing up so she could get closer and Rachel had moved to sit next to her on the coffee table. Shelby picked up the remote from the couch and paused the movie and smiled when both girls turned to look back at her.

"I brought you something," Shelby told them.

She set up the chairs in front of the coffee table and close to the TV and motioned for the girls to sit in them. She put a hand on the top of Kelsey's head and asked, "Better?" Kelsey nodded excitedly and Shelby moved back to the couch and started the movie once again. She handed Rachel the bowl of popcorn and left the girls to their movie.

It was well into the middle of the night when Kelsey woke up and tried not to become too frightened in the darkness that engulfed her. She and Rachel were in sleeping bags on the floor in the girl's room and a small night light illuminated a spot on the wall across the room. It did nothing to help Kelsey now and her sense of fear started to rise because she had to go to the bathroom. Maybe she could wait. She would have to do because she had no idea how to get around Rachel's house in the dark. She didn't even try in her new house yet because she was still learning the layout and the boxes didn't help. But when she was home she could wake her mother up; she didn't want to have to wake up Rachel. Kelsey shut her eyes and tried to force herself to go back to sleep, but nothing worked. She was going to have to get up.

She pushed the sleeping bag back and reached for her cane which was lying to her left. She moved her pillow out of the way before she stood up and then used her cane to carefully feel the area in front of her. She moved a foot forward and started her slow movements to get out of the room.

Kelsey had to stop at the doorway before she went into the hall because she couldn't remember if the bathroom was to the left or right. Which way were the stairs? Her breathing became short and panicked as she stepped into the hallway.

Shelby heard bells and a crash and she quickly got out of bed to find out what was going on. She swung her bedroom door open and let her eyes adjust to the dark hallway. It only took a second to notice Kelsey on her hands and knees next to the small overturned table and scattered picture frames and bells. Her hand was patting the ground all around her to try and find the dropped items.

"Kelsey?" Shelby asked as she went to the girl and knelt down next to her and put a soothing hand on her back. The girl jumped and let a startled cry, but quickly regained her bearings.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Corcoran," Kelsey said. "I knocked it over. I can't find- I was trying to find the bathroom but it's too dark."

"It's ok," Shelby said and she wrapped the girl in a tight hug.

"I couldn't remember which way the stairs were and I was afraid I was going to fall," Kelsey cried into Shelby's shoulder. "I can't see in the dark."

"Don't cry, sweetheart," Shelby said. "I'll help you."

Shelby grabbed the girl's cane and handed it to the girl as they stood up. She told her to stand right there for a second and she took a few steps down the hall and flipped the switch to turn on the light. Kelsey blinked into the brightness as Shelby took her hand and led her to the bathroom and turned the light on for her.

"Do you need any help?" Shelby asked.

"No," Kelsey blushed. "I just need the light on."

"Ok," Shelby smiled kindly at her. "I'll wait right here."

When the door closed, Shelby went back down the hall and picked up the table and returned the bells and picture frames to their proper place for the second time in a day. She then went back to the bathroom to wait for her young houseguest to come back out.

Kelsey's head was down when she reappeared and Shelby asked her what was wrong. "I get scared in the dark," Kelsey told her.

"That's ok," Shelby said. "Everyone gets scared in the dark. But no more crying, ok?"

Kelsey nodded dutifully. Tiredly.

"It's ok to ask for help," Shelby told her. "I don't want you to get hurt and neither does Rachel."

"I didn't want her to think I was baby for needing help in the middle of the night," Kelsey admitted.

"Trust me, honey, Rachel would not think that," Shelby said. "She would have helped you and then immediately started making plans for how we need to have the lights set up when you are here. You'd never be in the dark again."

Kelsey giggled and wrapped her arm around Shelby's waist as the woman led her back to Rachel's room. Shelby left the light on in the bathroom and hallway and turned on a stronger lamp when they got inside her daughter's bedroom. Shelby checked on Rachel who hadn't even stirred as Kelsey got settled in her sleeping bag. She grabbed a stuffed monkey from Rachel's bed and then got down on the floor next to Kelsey and kissed her on the head.

"Here, you can sleep with Mr. Mitchell if you want," Shelby said as she handed the monkey to the girl. Rachel had gone through a phase where she was very formal in her naming techniques. "He's good company."

"Thank you," Kelsey said as she pulled the toy close.

Shelby smiled and rubbed her back until the girl's eyes started to flutter close and she was certain Kelsey was asleep. She moved back over to Rachel and kissed her daughter's head only to have Rachel turn away from the light and settle on her side.

The following day had seen the two friends reluctant to part ways, but finally giving in at the prospect of future sleepovers. Rachel had questioned Shelby as to why all of the lights were on that morning and Shelby could see the wheels start to turn when she had been given the reason. When Hiram and Leroy arrived that evening to pick her up, Rachel gave a detailed presentation on the lighting arrangements that had to be in place in each house when Kelsey was over. Rachel was taking her role as friend very seriously and the parents couldn't help but indulge her. Kelsey had given their little girl something they had all been struggling to give her for years; a friend. And that outshined any darkness.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. I'm glad little Rachel has finally made a friend! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think.**

**And I know I talk about **_**Annie**_** a lot, but I love it so much. It was my first musical love and obsession. I had the original Broadway cast album on record. On record, people! And to me, Rachel is an **_**Annie**_** girl. **


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